{"id":12048,"date":"2012-02-12T20:56:31","date_gmt":"2012-02-13T03:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/?page_id=12048"},"modified":"2013-02-17T18:03:04","modified_gmt":"2013-02-18T01:03:04","slug":"john-force-racing-news","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/","title":{"rendered":"John Force Drag Racing News"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mr_social_sharing_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- Social Sharing Toolkit v2.2 --><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2Fjohn-force-racing-news%2F&amp;media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F02%2FRobert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA.jpg&amp;description=John+Force+Drag+Racing+News\" class=\"pin-it-button\" count-layout=\"none\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/images\/PinExt.png\" title=\"Pin It\" \/><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><fb:share-button type=\"button_count\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\"><\/fb:share-button><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-count=\"horizontal\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\" data-via=\"myrideisme\" data-text=\"John Force Drag Racing News\"><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a class=\"mr_social_share_email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=John Force Drag Racing News&amp;body=https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-sharing-toolkit\/images\/icons_small\/email.png\" class=\"nopin\" alt=\"Email\" title=\"Email\"\/><span class=\"mr_small_icon\">Email<\/span><\/a><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"linksalpha_button linksalpha_link\" href=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/social\/mobile\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\" data-text=\"John Force Drag Racing News\" data-desc=\"News About John Force Racing Team Supplied by the John Force Racing Public Relations machine and published here with their permission. TEAM JFR RACE REPORT 4th of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series 13th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV\" data-image=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA.jpg\" data-button=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/images\/social_share_button.png\" alt=\"Share\" class=\"linksalpha_image\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/scripts\/loader_iconbox.js?v=2.4\"><\/script><\/span><\/div><h2>News About John Force Racing Team<\/h2>\n<p>Supplied by the John Force Racing Public Relations machine and published here with their permission.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>TEAM JFR RACE REPORT<\/em><br \/>\n4<sup>th<\/sup> of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series<br \/>\n<strong>13<sup>th<\/sup> annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><br \/>\nThe Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway<br \/>\nLas Vegas, NV<br \/>\nApril 1, 2012<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Final round results from Sunday\u2019s 13<sup>th<\/sup> annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fourth race in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:<\/p>\n<p>FUNNY CAR \u2013\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif., Auto Club Ford Mustang, 4.154, 312.93 mph<\/span><\/em><\/strong> def. Bob Tasca III, Cranston, RI, Quick Lane\/Motorcraft Ford Mustang, 4.213, 292.14 mph.<\/p>\n<p>TOP FUEL \u2013 Spencer Massey, Ft. Worth, Tex., FRAM dragster, 3.830, 323.89 mph def. Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco Tools dragster, 3.849, 315.86 mph.<\/p>\n<p>PRO STOCK \u2013 Allen Johnson, Greenville, Tenn., MOPAR Dodge Avenger, 6.648, 207.30 mph def. Vincent Nobile, Dix Hills, NY, Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger, 6.738, 207.53 mph.<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>HIGHT WINS 3<sup>RD<\/sup> RACE OF 2012; TAKES PTS LEAD<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19470\" style=\"margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"Robert Hight Wins his 3rd race in Las Vegas\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA.jpg\" alt=\"nhra drag racing, Las vegas drag racing, john force racing\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA-575x382.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>LAS VEGAS, NV &#8212; For the third time in 2012 and the 26<sup>th<\/sup> time in his career Robert Hight has picked up another NHRA national event win, taking the \u201cWally\u201d at the 13<sup>th<\/sup> annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. Hight won from the No. 1 qualifying position, a first in the Funny Car class at the spring event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He defeated fellow Ford driver Bob Tasca III in the final after dispatching Terry Haddock, Gary Densham and Bob Bode.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBeing No. 1 qualifier in Pomona was sort of a curse but I don\u2019t look at it as too bad of a curse. You make your own luck. Most of the time when you lose out here you beat yourself. There are no underdogs. The TV cameras were talking about the underdogs running good like Bode, Densham or Haddock and I told them to stop because there are no underdogs. Anybody can win in this class,\u201d said Hight. \u201cNo No. 1 qualifier has ever won here and not that many people have even repeated here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the final Hight never trailed in the race. He got off the line first and his elapsed time of 4.154 seconds was well out in front of Tasca\u2019s 4.213 second run.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis class and the parity; it has never been this close. It is exciting and it makes winning three in a row all the more special. It is a lot of pressure on the driver. When our other teams go out early and those guys are over here helping my guys between rounds. When the crew chief walks away that means you have the car and it is all on you. It is a lot of pressure not having John on the TV doing interviews and helping me out there because he is the king at all this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is the second time in Hight\u2019s career he has won three races in a row and he has officially moved into the Full Throttle points lead. Hight has led the Funny Car points each year of his professional career going back to his rookie season in 2005. No Funny Car driver has achieved this feat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have made a lot of test runs here (The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway). We have a lot of experience on this race track. The conditions here are a little tricky. It is a little harder to make power. You are halfway to Denver in elevation. We have a lot of data and a lot of good crew chiefs. Those crew chiefs definitely earn their money on a day like today when the conditions are constantly training. We have (track specialist) Lanny (Miglizzi) out there watching the track and starting line. We really are stacked top to bottom on our team with talent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very pleased because we go to Gainesville in crusher conditions and we were able to run good. This is the hottest track we have been on all year and we were almost flawless,\u201d said Hight. \u201cWe were one little adjustment away from making eight great runs in the top two every round. Jimmy Prock, you can just see it when you are in the car and he is not having a hundred trips to the box. You just see the confidence in his eyes and that gives you more confidence. You just go up there and cut a light and hopefully see that win light.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19471\" style=\"margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"Robert Hight of John Force Racing has his Mustang in the winner circle\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA-2.jpg\" alt=\"John Force Racing, funny car, drag racing results\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA-2.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA-2-150x102.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA-2-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Vegas-Winner-NHRA-2-575x393.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Throughout the race day Hight\u2019s Auto Club Ford Mustang was the model of consistency posting three consecutive times of 4.11 seconds before slowly slightly in the final to a winning time of 4.154 at 312.93 mph. Hight also becomes the first three time winner at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. He has won 15 times in his last 17 final rounds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsually if you smoke the tires on the first run or don\u2019t make it down the track that puts you behind the eight ball. We had a little different circumstance this Friday. We were so close to going that we were one adjustment away from making a great run. Jimmy really didn\u2019t worry about it. It wasn\u2019t like we were lost. We were very confident in what changes we needed to make to get it down there for the night run,\u201d said the No.1 qualifier.<\/p>\n<p>This is the fourth consecutive win for John Force Racing to start the 2012 season and for crew chief Jimmy Prock the win was a show of force as he has tuned his Funny Car to wins in three different climate and altitudes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is three in a row for us and Robert and the Auto Club Ford Mustang so we\u2019re off to a good start. We worked hard this winter to try and make ourselves better. We got off to kind of a bad start in Pomona, but we re-grouped after that. Everybody\u2019s been working hard. The competition has been really tough, but we\u2019ve just tried to run consistent and take it round by round,\u201d said Prock. \u201cToday was a good day for us. We were consistent and it\u2019s always good to have an all-Ford final with (Bob) Tasca (III) and all of our guys pitching in to help out after they went out. It was a good team effort, I\u2019m really excited and I hope that we keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The tricky weather conditions gave many of the teams fits but for Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team it was a chance for them to flex their muscle with a tune-up for any condition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I would take my right hand off the wheel to hit my parachutes it would suck me over to the wall and I bet you I wasn\u2019t two feet away from the wall. You can just feel the steering wheel bend because you just can\u2019t hold it. It made it challenging. Early on the grandstands shelter you and you just want to go smooth and straight. Down at the other end it is a little hairy,\u201d said Hight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarlier this week I told my guys to go out on Wednesday night and get it out of your system. We are in Vegas and there are a lot of temptations and distractions. Thursday through Saturday we are all business. We have to stay focused. Now they are going to kill me because we aren\u2019t going to be able to do much partying tonight because we are going to come out here and test tomorrow. We have some new guys on board with John Medlen, Ron Armstrong and Dale Armstrong. Having those guys in my trailer between rounds is so exciting. There is so much experience and they have so many ideas. They work really well together. We will try and go to the Four Wide race and make it four wins in a row.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is harder to start a streak than keep it going. It is not that easy to win out here. I am glad we only have one weekend off before we get to Charlotte and we are in for a treat. These are the best of the facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>John Force lost in the first round for the third race in a row but the 15-time Funny Car champion is not getting discouraged. With the win at the season opening NHRA O\u2019Reilly Winternationals he has secured his spot in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout, the $100,000 to win race within a race, at the Mac Tools US Nationals and he will leave Las Vegas firmly in the Top Ten in Full Throttle points.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt ain\u2019t over. Robert still has a shot at winning this. It\u2019s just part of the game. We\u2019re going through a learning curve here with a lot of new stuff. You gotta tip your hat to Gary Densham, coming out here running on a budget, making two runs, one qualifying run and then to run that 4.12,\u201d said Force. \u201cIt impressed me. We\u2019ll just stay positive. We got them all qualified. I think we\u2019ll all stay in the top ten before this is over so we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the weekend Mike Neff and the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang were challenging the racing conditions and working on a solid race day tune up. In the first round versus 2010 Funny Car champion Matt Hagan the side by side race was decided by the slimmest of margins at the finish line with Hagan getting his first win light of the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a little disappointed. We just didn\u2019t make the right calls. We changed some stuff around today to try to fix a couple of things and ended up bringing on a couple new problems. We just never really hit our stride here this weekend,\u201d said Neff, a two-time finalist in 2012. \u201cWe were clearly trying to run a lot better than that first round. Just disappointed that we weren\u2019t on this weekend unfortunately, but it\u2019s alright. We\u2019re going to test tomorrow. We got some stuff that will hopefully help us out. Then we\u2019ll go to Charlotte and try it again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neff slipped to No. 2 in the Full Throttle points standings but he is solidly in position to make a run at his first win of the season in two weeks in Charlotte.<\/p>\n<p>The newest addition to John Force Racing, the youngest daughter of the Force clan, Courtney Force came into the first round of eliminations today having spiked her way to the No. 4 spot in qualifying attempts.<\/p>\n<p>Force endured an opening-round loss against Johnny Gray today. This was the first time Gray and Force have faced each other in eliminations. The Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car malfunctioned and threw out the parachutes just before Force clicked it off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m happy that we made it to the No. 4 qualifying spot. We got a good handle on our Traxxas Mustang Funny Car in the last qualifying session and I was really excited going into first round here on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst round was a little bit of a bummer. We had a tough competitor with Johnny Gray. I had a good feeling our car would perform, I was ready for it to, but we just had a little malfunction with the parachute. It caused a load of problems for me on my run and he (Gray) was able to drive around me and get that win,\u201d Force said.<\/p>\n<p>Not only was Force\u2019s 4.147 during her final qualifying shot the best start for any of the front runners for Rookie of the Year, but it amplified confidence in the Traxxas Mustang Funny Car team in only their fourth Full Throttle Drag Racing series event.<\/p>\n<p>This is also the track where Force first ran 300 mph run on a night run and licensed last October.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s always a bummer when your car leaves good and you don\u2019t see him at first, but when something like that happens, that\u2019s why they call it a drag race because you can\u2019t do anything about it, just try to go after them in Charlotte,\u201d said Force, a leading Rookie of the Year candidate.<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">FULL THROTTLE POINT STANDINGS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>FUNNY CAR \u2013\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">1. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 399; <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">2. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mike Neff, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 316;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 3.\u00a0Jack Beckman, 276;\u00a04.Johnny Gray, 246;\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">5. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">John Force, Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang, 217;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 6. Bob Tasca III, 208;\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">7. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Courtney Force, Traxxas Ford Mustang, 191;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 8.\u00a0Ron Capps, 190;\u00a09.\u00a0Cruz Pedregon, 182;\u00a010.\u00a0Bob Bode, 165<\/p>\n<p>TOP FUEL \u2013 1.\u00a0Antron Brown, 357;\u00a02.\u00a0Morgan Lucas, 353;\u00a03.\u00a0Spencer Massey, 349;\u00a04.\u00a0Tony Schumacher, 344;\u00a05.\u00a0Shawn Langdon, 259;\u00a06.\u00a0Doug Kalitta, 209;\u00a07.\u00a0Clay Millican, 205;\u00a08.\u00a0Steve Torrence, 199;\u00a09.\u00a0Bob Vandergriff, 175;\u00a010.\u00a0Brandon Bernstein, 153<\/p>\n<p>PRO STOCK \u2013 1.\u00a0Greg Anderson, 362;\u00a02.\u00a0Jason Line, 324;\u00a03.\u00a0Mike Edwards, 307;\u00a03.\u00a0Allen Johnson, 258;\u00a04.\u00a0Vincent Nobile, 238;\u00a06.\u00a0Greg Stanfield, 206;\u00a07.\u00a0Erica Enders, 193;\u00a08.\u00a0Roger Brogdon, 191;\u00a09.\u00a0Ronnie Humphrey, 188;\u00a010.\u00a0Larry Morgan, 186<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">THE DRIVERS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>JOHN FORCE<\/strong>, 62, Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang<br \/>\nQualifying: 9<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.196 seconds, 305.77 mph<br \/>\nBonus Qualifying Points: 0<br \/>\nRace results: Lost to Gary Densham.<\/p>\n<p><strong>MIKE NEFF<\/strong><strong>, <\/strong>45, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang<br \/>\nQualifying: 7<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.153 seconds, 303.50 mph<br \/>\nBonus Qualifying Points: +3 (Quickest of Q4)<br \/>\nRace results: Lost to Matt Hagan<\/p>\n<p><strong>ROBERT HIGHT<\/strong>, 42, Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif;\">Qualifying: 1<\/span><sup>st<\/sup><span style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif;\"> at 4.132 seconds, 310.98 mph <\/span><br \/>\nBonus Qualifying Points: +8 (Quickest of Q2 and Q4 and 2<sup>nd<\/sup> quickest of Q3)<br \/>\nRace results: Beat Terry Haddock, Gary Densham, Bob Bode, Bob Tasca III<\/p>\n<p><strong>COURTNEY FORCE<\/strong>, 23, Traxxas Ford Mustang<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif;\">Qualifying: 4<\/span><sup>th<\/sup><span style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif;\"> at 4.147 seconds, 309.91 mph<\/span><br \/>\nBonus Qualifying Points: 0<br \/>\nRace results: Lost to Johnny Gray.<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<p>FOLLOW JOHN FORCE RACING AT\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/jfr_racing\" target=\"_blank\">www.twitter.com\/jfr_racing<\/a><\/p>\n<p>****<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>NEXT EVENTS: <\/strong><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>April 13-15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Charlotte, NC<\/p>\n<p>April 27-29\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals, Houston, TX<\/p>\n<p>May 4-6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals, Commerce, GA<\/p>\n<p>May 18-20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 NHRA Summer Nationals, Topeka, KS<\/p>\n<p>May 31-June 3\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Toyota NHRA SuperNationals, Englishtown, NJ<\/p>\n<p>June 15-17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ford Thunder Valley Nationals pres. by Tri-Cities Ford, Bristol, TN<\/p>\n<p>June 28-July 1\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Chicago, IL<\/p>\n<p>July 5-8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Norwalk, OH<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><em>Results from the NHRA<\/em><strong> GatorNationals <\/strong>on the next page&#8230;<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-family: Batang;\"><span>TEAM JFR RACE REPORT<\/span><\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">3<sup>rd<\/sup> of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series<\/span><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span><br \/>\n43<sup>rd<\/sup> annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals<\/span><\/span><\/strong><strong> <\/strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><br \/>\nAuto Plus Raceway at Gainesville<br \/>\nGainesville, FL<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">March 9-11, 2012<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>* * * *<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>Final round results from Monday\u2019s 43<sup>rd<\/sup> annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Auto PlLus Raceway at Gainesville, third race in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>FUNNY CAR \u2013\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif., Auto Club Ford Mustang, 4.861, 236.05 mph<\/span><\/em><\/strong> def. Johnny Gray, Artesia, NM, Service Central Dodge Charger, 6.074, 116.09 mph.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>TOP FUEL \u2013 Morgan Lucas, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco Tools dragster, 3.743, 326.87 mph def. Tony Schumacher, Long Grove, Ill., US Army dragster, 5.289, 139.63 mph<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>PRO STOCK \u2013 Mike Edwards, Coweta, Okla, Penhall GXP, 6.566, 211.30 mph def. Greg Anderson, Mooresville, NC, Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.538, 211.69 mph.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE \u2013 Eddie Krawiec, Brownsburg, Ind., Harley Davidson V-Rod, 6.822, 194.44 def. Andrew Hines, Brownsburg, Ind., Harley Davidson V-Rod, 6.861, 194.55<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>* * * *<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>AUTO CLUB\u2019S HIGHT WINS GATORNATIONALS<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19468\" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"Robert Hight is 2012 Gatornationals Winner\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-GatorNationals-winner.jpg\" alt=\"drag racing, john force racing, Robert Hight\" width=\"575\" height=\"323\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-GatorNationals-winner.jpg 575w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-GatorNationals-winner-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-GatorNationals-winner-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>GAINESVILLE, FL &#8212; Robert Hight won for the second time in 2012 defeating Johnny Gray in the final round of the 43<sup>rd<\/sup> annual Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals presented by\u00a0napafilters.com. For Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team is was their second consecutive final round victory over Johnny Gray (Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals in Readin, Pa., in 2011) and HIght\u2019s 14<sup>th<\/sup> win in sixteen final rounds. This win was one of the big ones of Hight\u2019s career.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cI have won the US Nationals and I have won both the Pomona races but next to Indy this is where you want to win. Ron Capps said it best a few years back you don\u2019t want to retire without winning the Gatornationals,\u201d said Hight a first time Gatornationals finalist. \u201cThis is a huge race. The Hall of Fame inductions are before this race so everybody from drag racing past is here for this race. They are out there watching and I have a lot of admiration for them. If it wasn\u2019t for them, the pioneers, this sport wouldn\u2019t be where it is today. I want to show my respect to them.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>Two weeks ago Hight defeated teammate Mike Neff in the finals of the NHRA Arizona Nationals locking in his position as a member of the inaugural Traxxas Shootout to be held during the Mac Tools US Nationals. Getting another win today has Hight motivated for continued success.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cTwo is a row is huge. That is a great way to start the season and three in a row for John Force Racing. I was really hoping for a third all Ford Racing final with JFR drivers but it didn\u2019t work. I don\u2019t know exactly what too place with my car. It shook and I had to pedal it. You want to be perfect and you want the car to be flawless but sometimes as a driver to win one of those pedaling. This is a historic race and that was an old school pedalfest. That is huge and it gives you a lot of confidence as a driver.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>In the final two of the strongest and quickest Funny Cars squared off. In the semi-finals both cars had posted low 4.0 elapsed times but as the sun came out the crew chiefs had to make some tough decisions. Hight was pleased he was able to contribute to a win after so many people had been supporting him on his road to victory.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting that (smoking tires) at all. Jimmy said he was going to back it off because the track was warming up. We were trying to run 4.08 or something. I think he backed it off too much and it shook. You saw Morgan Lucas run 3.74 right behind us and that showed you how good the track was. We probably would have been better off to leave it like it was and try and run 4.03 or 4.04. It really doesn\u2019t matter how you get here as long as you get the win light,\u201d said Hight, a 25-time NHRA national event winner.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>Hight credited his team for his dominance in final rounds and was quick to share the accolades. With the win, Hight moves into a tie for 7<sup>th<\/sup> (with Del Worsham) on the all-time Funny Car win list.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cThe team I am on (is the key). I\u2019ll be honest, racing (Jack) Beckman that was a big round. He is a great driver and that is a great team. In the final there was a lot of pressure because all the teams were behind me. All our teams are standing back there and they all helped get us ready,\u201d said HIght. \u201cThey have given you the car and you just want to do your best. The Traxxas people were here and this is good for all sponsors like Castrol, Ford, Mac Tools and BrandSource. There are so many people back at the shop you just don\u2019t want to let them down.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>Hight has now won multiple events in each of his seven seasons as a professional Funny Car driver but that kind of success does not make early round racing any easier.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cIt was double the pressure having two days of racing. It was like two first rounds. I have asked Don Garlits if first rounds every get any easier and he has told me they don\u2019t. Basically we had another first round today. I had all night to think about that semi-final race with Beckman. Once you get going it is nice to get that first round win of the day out of the way. We really had two first rounds this weekend.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cYou give it a quick look. You have to get the car under control and then take a look. You don\u2019t want to look too early because then that could make you late getting back under power. You have to know if you need to stay with it or if the other guy is way out there, there is no reason to blow your car up. You don\u2019t want to oil the track and kill it for the dragsters coming up behind you. At one point I got over near the center line and I backed off because I did not want to cross that center line. I eased back into it again.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>There is a lot going on in that sub five second race.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cUsually the guy that smokes the tires first loses. If you smoke your tires second you have more momentum.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>Winning the Tire Kingdowm Gatornationals at Auto Parts Raceway at Gainesville was Hight\u2019s 17<sup>th<\/sup> different event win and 15<sup>th<\/sup> different race track.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cIt was good to get John Medlen back in the winner\u2019s circle in Gainesville. It was five years when we have a tragic accident and we lost Eric here. It means a lot to get him back in the winner\u2019s circle here,\u201d concluded Hight.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>Mike Neff\u2019s string of final rounds ended at two to start the season. After having the quickest and most consistent Funny Car on the property he was again consistent against Johnny Gray\u2019s Service Central Dodge Charger but Gray was a touch quicker on the track. Neff left on the Funny Car veteran (.077 to .091 for reaction times) but at the finish line Gray\u2019s 4.054 at 314.61 mph was quicker than Neff\u2019s 4.083 at 311.92 mph.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>For the weekend Neff, the Tire Kingdom Gatornationals defending champion, recorded times of 4.10, 4.08, 4.08, and 4.06 seconds in qualifying and in eliminations he posted times of 4.079, 4.076 and 4.083 seconds. That kind of consistency will win the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang a lot of races in 2012 for the driver and tuner he will leave Gainesville with the points lead.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>Courtney Force has shown dedication to constantly perfecting her driving since her Traxxas Funny Car debut in Pomona this year for the NHRA Winternationals. Force has proven herself to her fans, her teammates, her competitors and her father, fifteen-time champion John Force. This weekend, she struggled in her Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car during qualifying, but managed to check off several items on her Funny Car driving to-do list.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>The youngest Force daughter controlled her car through an aggressive pass at the beginning of the day on Saturday as the car shook at half-track and sent Force into the right guard wall. Force emerged unharmed at the end of the track, but suffered minor bruising. Despite challenges throughout the weekend, Force qualified in the No. 11 spot and had a positive outlook for Sunday\u2019s eliminations.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cWe had an interesting weekend. We had a pretty consistent car all the way up until qualifying on Saturday. We were trying to work out some new things and we had a problem where it just spun the tires. It caused us to bump up against the wall pretty hard so we just came back, set up my spare car to run and all of our teams kind of came over to get us put back together to get ready for the next round. We were able to run a 4.13 that session, which was my quickest of the weekend. It definitely helped to get down the track on that last run after brushing the wall. It definitely was a team effort and I\u2019m really proud of the guys. I\u2019m glad we could get the car from A to B for Traxxas, Ford, Castrol, Mac Tools, Auto Club, BrandSource, and Freightliner.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>The rookie of the year candidate lined up against Ron Capps and launched hard off the line, but had to pedal it and fought to keep the car from crossing the center line the entire way. Force posted a 4.630 ET at 272.72 mph to Capps\u2019 4.135 ET at over 306 mph.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cI knew I had a tough competitor having Capps first round. We had a hole out right when we left the starting line so it took me over into the center. I tried to pedal it hoping that maybe I would get lucky or something would happen and I\u2019d be able to drive around him, but he had a good run; he ran a 13 (4.13 elapsed time) so it was a hard number to beat. We\u2019ll be out there in Vegas and we\u2019ll have everything ready to go again and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll do much better,\u201d said Force.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>Force\u2019s crew chief Ron Douglas explained the issues they had with the Traxxas Ford Mustang in today\u2019s first round of eliminations. \u201cWe are working out of all different fuel cell components than what we have been running. It\u2019s all brand new stuff on this car. It may take us a couple of runs to get it sorted out. We thought we had a handle on it, but we missed something, had a little too much fuel and dropped a cylinder so we\u2019re going to fix it and we\u2019ll be ready for Vegas,\u201d Douglas said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>John Force, one of the most celebrated race car drivers in the history of NHRA, came into Sunday feeling pretty good after a series of three clean and straight passes down Auto Plus Raceway. His final qualifying shot, a 4.114 ET at 309.42 mph, secured Force in the No. 7 spot for Sunday\u2019s eliminations.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>The 62-year-old Force went up against rookie driver, Alexis DeJoria, in the opening round of eliminations. This was the second time Force and DeJoria have met in eliminations since the beginning of the season. The two faced each other in the first round in Pomona earlier this year. Force won and left DeJoria with the determination to even the score.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>Force smoked the tires against DeJoria and put a 6.743 at 96.46 mph on the scoreboard and subsequently bowed out of the show. DeJoria ran a 4.115 ET at 309.27 mph, an almost identical run to Force\u2019s best of the weekend.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cAlexis DeJoria did a great job; went down there from A to B. Worsham, I congratulated him because he had done well. We just smoked the tires and we were out,\u201d said Force.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>The John Force Racing team owner\/driver doesn\u2019t let the loss hold him back.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cThe fans buy a ticket to NHRA. They deserve an autograph or a picture. I tell Courtney, just like I told Ashley, that when you\u2019re in the dumps because you got beat, get out to the ropes and to signing autographs because half of them don\u2019t know you got beat, they just love you. Get out there and they\u2019ll make you feel better. They love us, they love our products and they buy them- all the Fords, Traxxas cars and trucks, Castrol oil, all of it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>\u201cThis wasn\u2019t mine or Courtney\u2019s day, it was Robert (Hight) and Neff\u2019s (Mike). Our drivers and teams are on cycles out here because the transitions, tune-ups get off, drivers get off, clutch disks change, blowers can change, track conditions, but you have to adapt to it. Our teams do a great job of that.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>* * * *<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>FULL THROTTLE POINT STANDINGS<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>FUNNY CAR \u2013\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">1.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><span><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> Mike Neff, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 280;<\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> 2.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 273;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 3.\u00a0Jack Beckman, 217;\u00a04.Johnny Gray, 192;\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">5.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> John Force, Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang, 185;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 6.\u00a0Ron Capps, 180;\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">7.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> Courtney Force, Traxxas Ford Mustang,156;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 8.\u00a0Jeff Arend, 115;\u00a09.\u00a0Todd Lesenko, 112;\u00a010T.\u00a0Matt Hagan, 108;\u00a010T.<\/span><span> Bob Tasca III, 108<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>TOP FUEL \u2013 1. <\/span><span>Tony Schumacher, 283;\u00a02.\u00a0Morgan Lucas, 269;\u00a03.\u00a0Antron Brown, 265;\u00a04.\u00a0Spencer Massey, 229;\u00a05.\u00a0Shawn Langdon, 223;\u00a06.\u00a0Clay Millican, 178;\u00a07.\u00a0Doug Kalitta, 156;\u00a08.\u00a0Bob Vandergriff, 141;\u00a09.\u00a0Steve Torrence, 125;\u00a010. <\/span><span>Brandon Bernstein, 120<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>PRO STOCK \u2013 1.<\/span><span> Greg Anderson, 308;\u00a02.\u00a0Mike Edwards, 264;\u00a03.\u00a0Jason Line, 254;\u00a04.\u00a0Roger Brogdon, 157;\u00a05.\u00a0Ronnie Humphrey, 155;\u00a06.\u00a0Vincent Nobile, 145;\u00a07.\u00a0Allen Johnson, 137;\u00a08.\u00a0Larry Morgan, 135;\u00a09.\u00a0Greg Stanfield, 134;\u00a010.<\/span><span> Jeg Coughlin Jr, 132<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE &#8211; <\/span><span>1.\u00a0Eddie Krawiec, 150;\u00a02.\u00a0Andrew Hines, 101;\u00a03.\u00a0Hector Arana Jr, 80;\u00a04.\u00a0Matt Smith, 74;\u00a05T.\u00a0LE Tonglet, 56;\u00a05T.Hector Arana, 56;\u00a07.\u00a0Karen Stoffer, 53;\u00a08.\u00a0Scotty Pollacheck, 52;\u00a09.\u00a0Steve Johnson, 34;\u00a010T.\u00a0Shawn Gann, 32;\u00a010T.\u00a0Joey Gladstone, 32;\u00a010T.<\/span><span>Gerald Savoie, 32<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>THE DRIVERS<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><strong><span>JOHN FORCE<\/span><\/strong><span>, 62, Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang<br \/>\nFinal Qualifying: 7<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.114 seconds, 309.42 mph<br \/>\nBonus Qualifying Points: +2 (2<sup>nd<\/sup> quickest of Q1)<br \/>\nRace results: Lost to Alexis DeJoria<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span><strong>MIKE NEFF<\/strong><\/span><span>, 45, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang<br \/>\nFinal Qualifying: 4<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.065 seconds, 313.00 mph<br \/>\nBonus Qualifying Points: +9 (Quickest of Q1, Q2 and Q3)<br \/>\nRace results: Beat Jeff Arend, Jim Head. Lost to Johnny Gray<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>ROBERT HIGHT<\/span><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>, 42, Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang<br \/>\nFinal Qualifying: 3<sup>rd<\/sup> at 4.057 seconds, 313.66 mph<br \/>\n<\/span><span>Bonus Qualifying Points: +3 (2<sup>nd<\/sup> quickest of Q2 and 3<sup>rd<\/sup> quickest of Q4)<br \/>\nRace results: Beat Blake Alexander, Ron Capps, Jack Beckman, Johnny Gray<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>COURTNEY FORCE<\/span><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"><span>, 23, Traxxas Ford Mustang<br \/>\nFinal Qualifying: 11<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.136 seconds, 306.12 mph<br \/>\n<\/span><span>Bonus Qualifying Points: 0<br \/>\nRace results: Lost to Ron Capps<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><em>Results from the NHRA<\/em><strong> Arizona Nationals <\/strong>on the next page&#8230;<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><em>TEAM JFR RACE REPORT<\/em><br \/>\n<strong>2<sup>nd<\/sup> of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series<br \/>\n<\/strong>28<sup>th<\/sup> annual Arizona NHRA Nationals<br \/>\nFirebird Raceway Phoenix, Ariz.<br \/>\nFeb. 17-19, 2012<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"highslide\" onclick=\"return vz.expand(this)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Funny-car-winner.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19210\" style=\"border-image: initial; margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"Robert Hight -2012 Arizona Nationals Funny Car winner\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Funny-car-winner.jpg\" alt=\"Robert Hight, john force racing, nhra funny car\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Funny-car-winner.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Funny-car-winner-150x108.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Funny-car-winner-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Funny-car-winner-575x414.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a>Photos courtesy of Ron Lewis Photography &#8211; click to see full size<\/p>\n<p>Final round results from Sunday\u2019s 28<sup>th<\/sup> annual Arizona NHRA Nationals at Firebird Raceway, second race in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series:<\/p>\n<p>FUNNY CAR \u2013\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Robert Hight, Yorba Linda, Calif., Auto Club Ford Mustang, 4.139, 307.02 mph<\/span><\/em><\/strong> def. Mike Neff, Fishers, Ind., Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 4.168, 309.91 mph.<\/p>\n<p>TOP FUEL \u2013 Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco Tools dragster, 3.793, 319.82 mph def. Tony Schumacher, Long Grove, Ill., US Army dragster, 3.813, 318.17 mph<\/p>\n<p>PRO STOCK \u2013 Jason Line, Mooresville, NC, Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.557, 211.69 mph def. Greg Anderson, Mooresville, NC, Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.570, 211.06 mph.<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<h3><strong>AUTO CLUB\u2019S ROBERT HIGHT WINS ARIZONA NATIONALS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>PHOENIX &#8212;<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> Robert Hight<\/span> and the Auto Club Ford Mustang raced into the record books extending a number of personal best streaks today winning the 28<sup>th<\/sup> annual Arizona NHRA Nationals in a great all John Force Racing final round against teammate Mike Neff. In the final Hight\u2019s Ford Mustang outran Neff\u2019s Castrol GTX backed Mustang 4.139 seconds to 4.168 seconds, in the first all JFR final round at Firebird Raceway. Until today, no other JFR driver other than John Force had won at Phoenix and he had won eight times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll be honest with you. We did not have a chance if Mike Neff was running like he was running all day. I am not sure what kind of a problem he had on that last run but Jimmy just made it go down the left lane. We picked it up a little from the round before,\u201d said Hight. \u201cWe were having trouble out there because there was a little bump that just upset our car because that was right where we were giving it some clutch. I\u2019ll be honest I would not have bet on a 4.13 beating Neff in the final.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"highslide\" onclick=\"return vz.expand(this)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Arizona-Funny-Car-Final-Hight.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19209\" style=\"border-image: initial; margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"NHRA Arizona Nationals Funny Car Final\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Arizona-Funny-Car-Final-Hight.jpg\" alt=\"Robert Hight, Mike Neff, NHRA Funny Cars\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Arizona-Funny-Car-Final-Hight.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Arizona-Funny-Car-Final-Hight-150x118.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Arizona-Funny-Car-Final-Hight-300x237.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Arizona-Funny-Car-Final-Hight-575x455.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hight has appeared in two previous finals at Firebird Raceway losing to Tony Pedregon in 2007 and then to Jack Beckman in 2008. Today\u2019s win was the 24th\u00a0of Hight\u2019s career in 38 final round appearance. He has won at least one race every year of his career.\u00a0This is the 16th different tour event Robert has won and it\u2019s the 14thdifferent track on which he has won. In the last two rounds Hight was relegated to the trickier left lane.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have been to the final here a couple times but I never got the job done. This is big. We had some runs going over there that could have run 4.07 but they weren\u2019t good enough to run that. Those bumps (in the left lane) were just tricky. I had to pedal it second round. We slowed it down against Courtney (Force) in the semis and we got by her. It wasn\u2019t a great run but we got by her to get into the final. Going into the final (crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) said he was going to pick it up a little more but he didn\u2019t want to give it away. I honestly thought Neff in that right lane would run 4.07 or go low like he has been doing. That has been a tough, tough car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This was also the second straight week Neff has posted quick time 4.072 seconds and top speed 309.91 only to lose in the final. Last week at the O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals it was 4.036 seconds and 316.97. This is also the\u00a0<strong>first time JFR has been 1-2-3 in points in the Funny Car standings.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Coming into the race\u00a0Neff and Hight both have been runner-ups at Phoenix but neither had won. Hight now has a 2-0 final round record over his teammate winning today and Topeka last year which was JFR\u2019s 200<sup>th<\/sup> Funny Car national event win. This is the second straight year the two have raced at Phoenix. Neff won in the first round last year. HIght equaled his round win record at 6-6 with Neff.<\/p>\n<p>This was the 37th all-JFR Funny Car final and this is just the third time that JFR drivers have opposed one another in consecutive final rounds. The last time that happened was 2001 when Tony Pedregon beat John Force at Englishtown, N.J., on May 20 and then next week (May 27) beat him again in the final round at Topeka, Kan. The only other time that there have been consecutive all-JFR finals was 1996 and again it was Force versus Tony. Force won both times, on Aug. 4 at Seattle, Wash., and on Aug. 18 at Brainerd, Minn.<\/p>\n<p>Hight qualified No. 8 and had to outrun Bob Tasca III in the opening round He survived a close tire-smoking battle with the No. 1 qualifier Johnny Gray to advance to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"highslide\" onclick=\"return vz.expand(this)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-John-force-funny-car.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19211\" style=\"border-image: initial; margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"Courtney Force vs. John Force in 2nd round of funny car\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-John-force-funny-car.jpg\" alt=\"courtney force, john force nitro funny car\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-John-force-funny-car.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-John-force-funny-car-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-John-force-funny-car-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-John-force-funny-car-575x382.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the semi-finals he had to race teammate Courtney Force who in addition to being one of the favorites for the Auto Club Road to the Future Award, as NHRA rookie of the year has a tremendously consistent race car.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If she keeps this pace going next race she will be in the finals. She is doing a great job. It is not as much fun having to race your teammate knowing that they can step up and run good. She had lane choice against me and she had run 4.09 the round before. We knew we couldn\u2019t run 4.09 against her. I asked Jimmy to just make it go, let\u2019s just see what happens. Luckily it worked out. She is doing a great job. She is loving it. I can tell you right now she is ready to go to Gainesville.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After winning against Courtney Robert was eager to get to the final with another teammate Neff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a good comeback for us. It was pretty exciting watching Neff run 4.09 right in front of us. Seeing him get to the final guaranteed an all JFR final. It is two Ford Mustangs in the final just like Pomona. I am glad we were not out in the first round and we are racing in the final. It is going to be a great race between Neff and I. We\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By getting his first win of 2012 Hight qualified for the inaugural Traxxas Nitro Shootout. Knowing that the first seven slots could be locked up by race winners Hight wanted to ensure his Auto Club Ford Mustang was one of those seven race cars sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is pretty exciting two weekends in a row having all John Force Racing Fords in the final. You have to cherish that because you know that is not going to keep happening. It is so tough to do. What is really cool is I got in the Traxxas Shootout. When they show you the rules and there are seven guaranteed spots for seven winners. That isn\u2019t that easy. There are a lot of good Funny Cars out here. To get it this early that is a little bit of a relief,\u201d said Hight.<\/p>\n<p>This was the second final in a row for Neff and his only consolation today was he will leave with the Full Throttle Funny Car points lead.\u00a0Neff now has led the points after 16 of the last 23 races. He led for the first time after last year&#8217;s NHRA Tire Kingdom Gatornationals which was the second race of the year.<\/p>\n<p>Neff\u2019s route to the final round started when he dispatched Bob Bode in the first round, then Ron Capps and Jack Beckman in consecutive rounds. After the final round Neff was philosophical about the day\u2019s results.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll in all, anytime you go to the final it\u2019s a good day; especially to be leaving here with the points lead. That\u2019s always a good thing, but still I\u2019m frustrated with letting one slip away last week and then I feel like I let this one slip away here too. It was a good opportunity to win the race today,\u201d said Neff. \u201cOur car has been running great and to just have it not do what we wanted it to and shake and I had to peddle it an just barely lose it, you know, it\u2019s frustrating. We want to win, we work hard, but on the positive side we\u2019ve had two races with two Force cars in each of the finals. We\u2019re definitely satisfied with that. We\u2019re happy about it. We\u2019re just a little frustrated that we haven\u2019t won either of those two, but we\u2019ll just keep on keepin\u2019 on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the most anticipated first round match-up of the day Courtney Force outran her father John Force and moved to the second round for the second race in a row. For Force the first round loss on the heels of his season opening win at the Winternationals was bittersweet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went through it with Ashley. There is just a difference in emotion. You love your kids. You want them to do well. I want her to do well for her sponsor Traxxas. I had the points lead which I haven\u2019t had in a while. I just choked it out there. The car dropped a cylinder. It wasn\u2019t going to run anyway no matter what I did,\u201d said Force. \u201cYou have to get your energy up every run. It is hard to get in that fight mode where you want to drill the competition; it is hard to get that way against your family. No matter how hard I try.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first round was the third consecutive time the pair had gone down the track side by side and each lap had a little bit of playful drama according to the veteran Force.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYesterday she had flickered the light on me and in the next session I flickered the light on her. I don\u2019t do it to screw her up. If I screw her up and hurt her as a driver then I could have sponsor problems. I don\u2019t want to screw her up. When I did it I wanted her to see what it was like. I\u2019ll be honest it distracted me a little bit in the first session yesterday. When I rolled in her light flickered and instead of thinking \u2018OK, whatever,\u2019 like I would have against another driver and I\u2019d have gone on in. With her I was like is she screwed up. I didn\u2019t think she was screwing with me. I thought, \u2018Was is she in trouble?\u2019 What she may not realize is if you don\u2019t light that bulb and the tree comes down you won\u2019t get a time. I remember I was thinking get her in there, get her in there. That was in qualifying so I went back against her in the second session so she could see it from my side.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the first round race the student took her shot at the master and waited for the 15-time champ to stage which is highly unusual for any driver to attempt. Force traditionally has a habit of staging second.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe doesn\u2019t seem to be bothered by much. Even up there staging I asked her what took her so long to get in. She told me she knows that I sit. She said everybody told her that. I told her OK so this early in the game we are sitting. She said no I was just going to go in and let you go in. She is not losing her focus with all that thinking.\u00a0\u00a0She is probably smarter than me. She is like her mom that way,\u201d said Force through a broad smile.<\/p>\n<p>The youngest Force qualified 12<sup>th<\/sup> and successfully went up against her father for the first time ever in eliminations winning with a 4.146 ET at over 307 mph.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cComing up here for first round I had my dad and I knew it was going to be tough. I raced him in qualifying a couple times. We both had fun and kind of messed with each other on the tree and then we were able to do it again first round. I don\u2019t know if it threw him off, but I was able to get the win. My car went out and ran pretty good and he got in trouble early in the right lane,\u201d said Force<\/p>\n<p>Courtney got a great lead off the line and never had to look back, as the Castrol Ford Mustang got sideways and the elder Force spent time trying to correct the car.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hate beating him (John Force). He is my dad and I have dreamed about racing him for such a long time. The fact that I can go out there against him first round was pretty amazing. We have had a pretty consistent car all weekend. I know he was trying to step it up that run to try and outrun me. I know we have a good car and it got a little lose at the top end. We just want to go from A to B and not make any mistakes. I waited on him a little bit. He wasn\u2019t going to go in to stage so I waited a little longer because I know he likes to be second. We definitely had some fun on the starting line. That was a good win for Traxxas and Ford plus Auto Club, BrandSource, Mac Tools and Castrol. I hate beating up on Dad, but that was fun,\u201d said Force.<\/p>\n<p>The largely-celebrated win sent her into a quarterfinals match-up where the youngest Force would have lane choice over new full-time racer Todd Lesenko. Alongside Lesenko, Force recorded her career-best ET with a 4.099 at 306 mph and proceeded to turn on her win light for the second time today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSecond round we had Lesenko. I actually ran my career-best ET, a 4.09, and the best of the round so that definitely gave me a lot more confidence going into the semis. I was excited to get my first second-round win in a Pro category. It must be rookie luck because I am still in shock that I am even out here driving one of these. That was awesome,\u201d said Force.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the team\u2019s constant efforts to improve, Force lost in the semifinals to teammate and brother-in-law Robert Hight. Force ran a 4.199 ET at 299.93 mph to Hight\u2019s 4.158 ET at 304.32 mph.<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">FULL THROTTLE POINT STANDINGS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>FUNNY CAR \u2013\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">1. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Mike Neff, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang,196;<\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> 2. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang,154; <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">3. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">John Force, Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang, 150;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 4.Jack Beckman, 137;\u00a05.\u00a0Ron Capps, 125;\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">6. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Courtney Force, Traxxas Ford Mustang,124;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 7.Todd Lesenko, 102;\u00a08.\u00a0Johnny Gray, 99;\u00a09.\u00a0Jeff Arend, 84;\u00a010.\u00a0Gary Densham, 83<\/p>\n<p>TOP FUEL \u2013 1.\u00a0Antron Brown, 212;\u00a02.\u00a0Tony Schumacher, 180;\u00a03.\u00a0Spencer Massey, 176;\u00a04.Morgan Lucas, 143;\u00a05.\u00a0Shawn Langdon, 139;\u00a06.\u00a0Clay Millican, 126;\u00a07T.\u00a0Bob Vandergriff, 89;\u00a07T.Steve Torrence, 89;\u00a09T.\u00a0Brandon Bernstein, 85;\u00a09T.\u00a0Doug Kalitta, 85<\/p>\n<p>PRO STOCK \u2013 1.\u00a0Greg Anderson, 209;\u00a02.\u00a0Jason Line, 208;\u00a03.\u00a0Mike Edwards, 147;\u00a04.\u00a0Roger Brogdon, 125;\u00a05.\u00a0Jeg Coughlin, 122;\u00a06.\u00a0Vincent Nobile, 111;\u00a07.\u00a0Greg Stanfield, 103;\u00a08.\u00a0Allen Johnson, 93;\u00a09T.\u00a0Shane Gray, 84;\u00a09T.\u00a0Larry Morgan, 84;\u00a09T.\u00a0Erica Enders, 84<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">THE DRIVERS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>JOHN FORCE<\/strong><\/span>, 62, Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Qualifying: <\/strong>5<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.115 seconds, 307.02 mph<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Race results: <\/strong>Lost to Courtney Force<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Bonus Qualifying Points:<\/strong> +2 (3<sup>rd<\/sup> quickest of Q2 and Q4)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quotable: \u201c<\/strong>I had the points lead which I haven\u2019t had in a while. The car dropped a cylinder. It wasn\u2019t going to run anyway no matter what I did. You have to get your energy up every run. It is hard to get in that fight mode where you want to drill the competition; it is hard to get that way against your family.\u201d \u2013 JOHN FORCE<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>MIKE NEFF<\/strong><\/span><strong>,<\/strong> 45, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Qualifying: <\/strong>2<sup>nd<\/sup> at 4.096 seconds, 307.51 mph<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Race results: <\/strong>Beat Bob Bode, Ron Capps, Jack Beckman. Lost to Robert Hight.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Bonus Qualifying Points: <\/strong>+4 (3<sup>rd<\/sup> quickest of Q1; quickest of Q4)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>ROBERT HIGHT<\/strong><\/span>, 42, Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Qualifying:<\/strong> 8<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.132 seconds, 304.32 mph<br \/>\n<strong>Race results<\/strong>: Beat Bob Tasca III, Johnny Gray, Courtney Force, Mike Neff<br \/>\n<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>COURTNEY FORCE<\/strong>, 23, Traxxas Ford Mustang<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Qualifying<\/strong>: 12<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.180 seconds, 297.75 mph<br \/>\n<strong>Race results:<\/strong> Beat John Force, Todd Lesenko. Lost to Robert Hight<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><em>Team qualifying report for NHRA<\/em><strong> Arizona Nationals <\/strong>on the\u00a0next page&#8230;<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><em>TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT<\/em><br \/>\n<strong>2012 NHRA Friday Qualifying Summary<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>2<sup>nd<\/sup> of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>28<sup>th<\/sup> annual Arizona NHRA Nationals<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Firebird Raceway<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Phoenix, AZ<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong><strong>Feb. 17-19, 2012<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19179\" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"John Force ripping up the 2012 Arizona Nationals Qualifying\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals.jpg\" alt=\"John Force, 2012 Arizona Nationals, funny car\" width=\"575\" height=\"383\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals.jpg 575w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/strong><\/strong>Photos courtesy of Ron Lewis Photography<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>FORCE AND NEFF TOPS FOR JFR ON FRIDAY IN PHOENIX<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>PHOENIX &#8212; <\/strong>In the desert outside of Phoenix John Force Racing continued to turn up the heat on the rest of the Funny Car field. In each session today of the Arizona NHRA Nationals, a JFR Ford Mustang picked up at least one qualifying bonus point and at the end of the day John Force was sitting in the No. 4 provisional spot followed by Mike Neff (No. 6) and daughter Courtney Force (No. 9). Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team posted the 15<sup>th<\/sup> quickest time but will go into Saturday\u2019s two qualifying sessions along with rookie Alexia DeJoria, Tim Wilkerson, and Cruz Pedregon looking for a qualifying time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>John Force and his Dean Antonelli and Danny DeGenarro tuned Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang are still carrying the momentum from their season opening win at Pomona to the race track. In the second session Force posted the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> quickest time a solid, 4.139 second pass at 307.51 mph. He was barely outpaced by fellow Blue Oval racer Bob Tasca III whose 4.134 second pass at 307.72 mph came just seconds after the 15-time champ\u2019s run.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Looking back at the whole team\u2019s effort on Friday Force, an 8-time winner at the Arizona NHRA Nationals, was excited about the prospects of success for the rest of the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was really excited that Courtney went ahead of me. Robert\u2019s car was trying to fly and he got loose out there. The track is a little tricky in some spots. (Crew chief Ron) Douglas pulled (Courtney) back to put her in the top twelve. He slid it right down there and it ran that 4.18,\u201d said Force. (Crew chief Dean Antonelli) was trying to run a little better but I think it just hit the clutch hard. It was trucking but at 300 feet it started to shake. I went to pedal it but then it cleaned up. I instantly stomped on the gas. You can see on the computer it dropped and they could hear it on the starting line but I never got out of it all the way. Luck is a big part of it. I am driving thinking that if it is at half throttle this thing is going to blow up in the lights. I got a 4.13 and then Tasca came right behind me and ran what he ran. I am just excited.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19180\" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"Courtney Force abusing a tire at the 2012 Arizona Nationals\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals.jpg\" alt=\"Courtney Force, 2012 Arizona Nationals, funny car\" width=\"575\" height=\"383\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals.jpg 575w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force-2012-Arizona-Nationals-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not worried about Neff and Robert. They are veterans. They know how to get there. They are trying to push the numbers and that is the game plan. They push to run the big numbers to stay at the top and Courtney and I are trying to learn our program. We are all doing OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked to rate his youngest daughter\u2019s driving performance coming out of the season opening race and headed into Phoenix Force was diplomatic and realistic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter Pomona I told ESPN the race car is the biggest deal. Drivers are a part of it but a good car makes a driver look good. I could say she could look like an \u201cA\u201d out there in Pomona but the car did the running for her. She did everything right and I gave her a \u201cB.\u201d Only she knows what really went on and any problems that she had. I told her to keep your nose clean and don\u2019t expect too much. She is doing a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mike Neff opened the first session with the third quickest time and after his second run he was still sitting in the No. 6 provisional spot. His opening run of 4.155 seconds was only bettered by veteran Jim Head\u2019s 4.107 and Tony Pedregon\u2019s 4.142 second runs. In the second run his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang was picking up speed and then at half-track as Neff put it, \u201cIt just blew up,\u201d and limped across the finish line with a time of 4.471 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will get her together for tomorrow. It is nothing I am worried about,\u201d said the driver\/crew chief.<\/p>\n<p>This time last week Courtney Force was climbing out of the cockpit of her Traxxas Ford Mustang and had made her pro debut in the Funny Car category the day before in the opening round of the NHRA Winternationals at Pomona. Today, the newly added Traxxas team led by Crew Chiefs Ron Douglas and Scott Wible made some changes, apparent in her improvement at the 28th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals.<\/p>\n<p>For her first run of the weekend Force posted a 4.274 ET at 291.89 mph which put her in the No. 11 spot for the round.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving a consistent car out here is really important. I have a great team. Getting the car from A to B is definitely something you want to focus on going into any race. You want to build on that and hopefully get it running quicker. That first pass was pretty good,\u201d said Force, a quarter-finalist in Pomona.<\/p>\n<p>The second qualifying session brought a quicker and faster time for Force as she took her Traxxas Ford Mustang straight down the track until the very end of the run. The car swung to the right at the other end and then towards the centerline, but still sent up a 4.180 ET at 297.75 mph.<\/p>\n<p>The second pass we got the car to run a 4.18. We were looking for it to run a little quicker, maybe a 4.15, but we will take what we can get. It got us in the field and I am happy. It felt like it was a little loose up there and it pulled me to the wall. I drove it back and then it whipped me hard to the centerline and I tried to pull it back over to get it in the groove, I was debating shutting it off but I stayed in it and shut it off when I got to the finish line. We are going to keep working on it tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a lot that can happen on a run especially at the other end when you are going close to 300 mph. You have to be ready for it. You are sitting in your seat and when you take it down there going straight it can whip you over and you have to be prepared for that to drive it right back. You don\u2019t want to hit the wall and you don\u2019t want to cross the center line. I definitely had my hands full but it made for a good ride and I am glad about that 4.18 and hopefully we can make it run a little quicker tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Force will go into Saturday\u2019s qualifying in the provisional No. 11 position.<\/p>\n<p>The NHRA Arizona Nationals is only the second of 23 stops on the NHRA Full Throttle series tour which leaves much time for more improvement before the end of Force\u2019s rookie season.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Coming from the NHRA Winternationals where Robert Hight snagged the no. 1 qualifying spot, the Auto Club Mustang was expected to be at the top of the pack today. Hight went a 4.244 ET at 284.15 mph in the first session leaving him in the provisional No. 10 spot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJimmy (Prock, crew chief) was going after it both runs. Jim Head made a great run and so did Tony (Pedregon) so we knew there was a good opportunity in the first session,\u201d Hight said.<\/p>\n<p>During the second session of Funny Car qualifying, Hight\u2019s Auto Club Ford Mustang fought the track. The car had the fourth best leave time of the session with a .899 60-foot, but smoked the tires well before reaching the finish line. Hight slipped to the 15th position and therefore his run will not carry over into Saturday\u2019s attempts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the second run, you know this track is tricky. We smoked the tires and didn\u2019t get it down to the finish line under power. We are getting good data from the other teams and Jimmy will look at that and we will get after it tomorrow. We weren\u2019t in (the top 12) going into Saturday at Pomona either and got the No. 1 spot. This is not how we want to race, but I have all the confidence in Jimmy and my guys. You can\u2019t count out this Auto Club Ford Mustang,\u201d added Hight.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nitro qualifying will resume at Firebird Raceway beginning at noon tomorrow.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><em>Pre-Race Package for the 28<sup>th<\/sup> annual<\/em><strong> NHRA Arizona Nationals <\/strong>on the\u00a0next page&#8230;<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pre-Race Package for the 28<sup>th<\/sup> annual NHRA Arizona Nationals<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><em>JFR\/Auto Club &#8211; <\/em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">ROBERT HIGHT<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>February 17-19, 2012<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Firebird International Raceway<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Phoenix, Ariz.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Second event in the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>ROBERT HIGHT EYES FIRST WIN IN PHOENIX<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>PHOENIX, AZ (February 14, 2012) &#8212; Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang team have been picked by a number of media outlets and experts as one of the odds on favorites to win the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship. Their performance in West Palm Beach, Florida testing further impressed experts as they consistently posted the quickest and fastest times. At the season opening O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals they qualified No. 1, a feat they had accomplished twice before at the first race and 40 times in Hight\u2019s career.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, all the predictions, accolades and qualifying success added up to a surprising first round loss and a 9<sup>th<\/sup> place position in the Full Throttle Funny Car point standing heading into the NHRA Arizona Nationals this weekend at Firebird International Raceway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t get the job done in Pomona. We got behind the eight ball on Thursday when we broke a blower shaft. Then on Friday we were weak on our tune-up and smoked the tires. We made a great run on Saturday in killer conditions but the rains came in and we didn\u2019t get a fourth run. Then Sunday morning we smoke the tires in the first round and we were done,\u201d said Hight, a three-time Winternationals winner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only positive I take away from last weekend was our run on Saturday and the fact that we got two JFR Mustangs into the final round to guarantee we started the season with one of my teammates winning the race. We are 1-2 in the points with John (Force) and Mike (Neff) at the top,\u201d said the perennial championship contender. \u201cI have raced well at Phoenix but never won and I want to change that this weekend. (Crew chief) Jimmy (Prock) and I will have the Auto Club Ford Mustang ready to go. I am so glad to be going back to a race track this weekend. If they told me they were starting qualifying tomorrow I would be out there with my guys. We are going to put Pomona behind us and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hight is a two-time finalist at Firebird International Raceway dropping races to Tony Pedregon in 2007 and Jack Beckman in 2008. Getting his first win at the NHRA Arizona Nationals would keep a number of streaks alive for Hight and start a new, very important streak for the former crewman turned driver. Hight has won multiple races every year he has raced going back to his rookie season of 2005 plus he has led the points every year. After seeing his boss and team leader introduced in the winner\u2019s circle as the first qualified driver for the inaugural Traxxas Nitro Shootout, the $100,000 to win race within a race at the Mac Tools US Nationals, Hight wants to race his way into that event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not putting pressure on myself or my team but we definitely want to wrap up a spot in the Traxxas Nitro Shootout sooner rather than later. The first seven drivers to win a race are guaranteed a slot and trust me there are way more than seven drivers out here that can win,\u201d said Hight. \u201cJohn got the first slot last weekend and I want to get my name up there beside his.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before the elimination rounds last Sunday Hight and the rest of the Ford Racing NHRA Funny Car competitors posed for a photo with Director of Ford Racing Jamie Allison and Ford executive Henry Ford III. The photo celebrated Ford winning the 2011 Manufacturer\u2019s Cup for NHRA. Being around the Ford Racing executives as well as his fellow Ford Racing teammates made Hight aware of the strength of the Funny Car category.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou look at how strong the Funny Car class is this season and you know you better bring your \u201cA\u201d game to the starting line every pass. There are new drivers coming up with Courtney Force and Alexis DeJoria and the drivers that just missed out on the championship last year like Neff, (Jack) Beckman, (Ron) Capps, myself, Bob Tasca (III), and Cruz (Pedregon). Those are some hitters plus you add in drivers that have won championships like Force, Tony (Pedregon), and (Matt) Hagan. That\u2019s more than enough drivers to fill the Countdown and I haven\u2019t even mentioned guys like Tim Wilkerson and Jeff Arend who can step up any weekend and beat you. This is going to be an exciting season and with the right conditions this weekend in Phoenix you could see some great times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know this Auto Club team will be ready,\u201d concluded Hight.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><strong><em>TEAM JFR Winternationals Race Results <\/em><\/strong>on the\u00a0next page&#8230;<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>TEAM JFR RACE REPORT &#8211; 2012 Winternationals Results<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Force-with-Wally.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19155\" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"2012 Winternationals Winner John Force holding his 134th Wally\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Force-with-Wally.jpg\" alt=\"john Force, 2012 winternationals winner\" width=\"575\" height=\"864\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Force-with-Wally.jpg 575w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Force-with-Wally-99x150.jpg 99w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Force-with-Wally-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>FUNNY CAR \u2013\u00a0<strong><em>John Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang, 4.080, 315.64 mph<\/em><\/strong> def. Mike Neff, Fishers, Ind., Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 4.036, 316.82 mph.<\/p>\n<p>TOP FUEL \u2013 Spencer Massey, Ft. Worth, Tex., Fram dragster, 3.750, 325.77 mph def. Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco Tools dragster, 3.794, 320.43 mph.<\/p>\n<p>PRO STOCK \u2013 Greg Anderson, Mooresville, NC, Summit Pontiac GXP, 6.549, 210.87 mph def. Jeg Coughlin Jr., Delaware, Ohio, JEGS Dodge Avenger, 6.586, 209.62 mph<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-defeats-Neff.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19156\" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"John Force has the early lead on Teammate Neff\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-defeats-Neff.jpg\" alt=\"John Force, 2012 winternationals results, 2012 winternationals winner\" width=\"575\" height=\"362\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-defeats-Neff.jpg 575w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-defeats-Neff-150x94.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/John-Force-defeats-Neff-300x188.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><strong style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">JOHN FORCE WINS 6<sup>TH<\/sup> WINTERNATIONALS TITLE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>POMONA &#8212; John Force bounced back from a dismal end to the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle season with his sixth win at the O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals today. It was the 134<sup>th<\/sup> win of the 15-time champion\u2019s career and also the four round wins today give the Yorba Linda, Calif., resident an even 1,100 round wins for his career. Force has followed up his previous five O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals wins by also winning the NHRA Full Throttle Funny Car championship (\u201991, \u201993, \u201997, \u201902 and \u201910). In the final Force outran teammate and championship contending driver Mike Neff.<\/p>\n<p>Force beat Alexis DeJoria, Tim Wilkerson and Gary Densham to get to the final with Neff. The experience differential between Force and fellow finalist teammate Mike Neff was sizable when you consider this was Force\u2019s 588<sup>th <\/sup>race to Neff\u2019s 73<sup>rd<\/sup>. Neff was the 38<sup>th<\/sup> different driver to face Force in a final. This was the 28<sup>th<\/sup> season for Force to win at least one NHRA national event.<\/p>\n<p>The win was a culmination of a busy off-season that saw Force add to his brain-trust by bringing back some talent that had slipped away.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI dedicated the trophy to the brain trust, my crew chiefs Jimmy Prock, Mike Neff, Guido (Dean Antonelli), Ron Douglas, Bernie Fedderly, John Medlen, Dickie Venables, Danny from Indy (DeGennaro), and Scott Wible. We got a group back to the way we used to think and function. This was a good start,\u201d said Force.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing that really mattered to me was getting right. People left for reasons. I didn\u2019t have a car for John Medlen. Dickie Venables left earlier with Tony because he wasn\u2019t really in line for a car. I am getting them back and I am feeling a whole lot better. Two weeks ago Medlen walked into my shop and said I want to come home. I called (Roger) Burgess on it and he said yeah he needs to be with you John. Burgess (R2B2 team owner) is really a good guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is amazing how we all pulled together before the final. All my brain trust was working on my Mustang and helping Neff. I knew Neff was going to spank me. His Castrol hot rod has been fast all day. We have teamwork and that is what will win us championships. I have done it before and maybe we\u2019ll do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With the win Force clinched the first spot in the inaugural Traxxas Nitro Shootout. Force won the previous race within a race, the Bud Shootout, a record six times. When Force was told about adding another historic first to his ever expanding resume he was thrilled with the prospect.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(NHRA president Tom) Compton said if we won this race we would make the Traxxas Nitro Shootout. That is a big deal. I can\u2019t wait to get to Indy. I want to thank Traxxas for giving the Funny Car and Top Fuel teams this extra money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Force was concentrating on winning today he was also focused on the development of his youngest daughter, Courtney Force, in her professional debut. Courtney made her own history qualifying No. 12 (three spots higher in her first race than her sister Ashley Force Hood) and winning her first, first round race (something only one out of eight JFR drivers had done, Gary Densham).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am proud of Courtney and the sport needs these women. They have Alexis DeJoria and Melanie Troxel who is going to come back hopefully. I told Courtney there are five things she needs to keep in mind. Love you sponsors, love your team, love the media because they are your lifeline, love the competition, and love the fans. The rest will take care of itself. She works it hard,\u201d said Force. \u201cShe told me she always wanted to be with me and racing me. I told her she was going to get that chance. We\u2019ll see what happens. It is a growing time for NHRA in a down economy. To get a company like Traxxas to come in with Castro, Auto Club, Ford, BrandSource, Mac Tools and Freightliner. You have to grow when stuff is bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Neff it was a tough race to drop. The six-time national event winner was looking for his first Winternationals title as a driver. He had been flawless all day posting three consecutive 4.07 second passes (4.077, 4.070 and 4.074) before stepping on his tune up to post the quickest run of the weekend, a 4.036 second pass at 316.82 mph in the final.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got distracted and it sounded to me like someone was revving their engine up and at first I thought, \u2018Is John over there revving his engine up?\u2019 And then I thought, \u2018Am I revving the engine up?\u2019 So I started to pull back off the throttle to make sure that I wasn\u2019t revving the engine up when the tree came down and I was late. I\u2019m not blaming it on John. I mean, he definitely used his John Force tactics on me out there, but that\u2019s just something you have to be able to deal with,\u201d said Neff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m happy for John. He hasn\u2019t won in a while and to have two Castrol Mustangs in the finals at the Winternationals is just a win-win situation. We knew that going up there (to the final round) so the pressure was off. One of the Force cars were going to win and that was really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Since mid-January testing in West Palm Beach, Fla., Courtney Force and the Traxxas team have been working on building from previous passes and constantly moving forward, and this was their weekend to show that. Force ran a 4.19, a 4.20 and a 4.21 during qualifying, proving the Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car an extremely consistent car.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt went better than I expected. I have all the faith in the world in my crew guys and my crew chiefs Ron Douglas and Scott Wible. Coming out as a rookie driver I didn\u2019t set my expectations too high for myself. I have a great team behind me and great teammates therefore I have had great teachers. I just want to do everything I have learned in testing,\u201d said Courtney, the youngest daughter of John Force. \u201cI am very happy with how it went. Getting qualified alone was a big accomplishment. I came in and brought my crew guys some brownies and cookies and I wrote them a big thank you note telling them how proud I am of them. It is a big deal; it is the Winternationals. This is something I have always dreamed of. I always came and watched my dad so it is surreal to say now I am participating in that race with all these big hitters out here,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>As crew chief Ron Douglas looked back at a hectic four days with a new team and new driver he felt relief and confidence moving forward to the NHRA Arizona Nationals, \u201cWe wanted to be consistent. We wanted to go down the track every run. We were working some bugs out still and you know, it\u2019s a new team, new parts, new car, so we\u2019re still working things out. We wanted to be a little bit faster than we were, but it was good to be consistent and keep making runs and letting her get runs under her belt. Then today, when we thought it was time we tried to open it up and run a little better and it ran better. We still need to do a little more to get it to perform better, but overall we\u2019re happy with the way things went.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCourtney was flawless this weekend and probably removed a lot of doubt from a lot of people because she really did a great job; she did as well as anybody out there. Her lights were good, she handled the car well, kept it in the middle of the race track, just did a great job; we couldn\u2019t ask for anything better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Force went up against fellow Ford racer Bob Tasca III this morning during the first round of eliminations. She posted a 4.204 ET at 309.27 mph, an almost perfect average of her qualifying times, which would send the 23-year-old Auto Club Road to the Future Award candidate to the next round against team member Mike Neff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Tasca) is a tough competitor. Our car was consistent all weekend. That is the only thing you can really ask for. We lucked out on that run. Something happened to his car and we were able to drive around him and get the win. I was pretty shocked. I was yelling at my guys on the radio with excitement. I was screaming when I saw that win light. When I popped out of the roof hatch I was a little unsure and I wanted to make sure that I won before I got too excited. It was a big deal. You have to go back to the pit and regain focus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With pressure building on Force\u2019s debut weekend, the team knew they would have to kick it up a notch against John Force Racing driver\/tuner, Neff, and that\u2019s just what they did. Force made an impressive pass at 4.14, considerably quicker than her previous passes over the weekend, but that wasn\u2019t enough to stay ahead of Neff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew he was going to be tough to beat. He had been running very consistent as well. He was running in the 4.0s in the first round. I knew it would be tough, but we went out there and ran the best number of the weekend for us, a 4.14. He just outran us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Force is thankful for the opportunity to make her childhood dreams come alive and proud of her brand new team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just have so much confidence in my team. We realize it is the big leagues, but we are capable of having a good car. We are up there with them (tough competitors) and I think we can be a competitive car. We can be a great team if we all stick together. We just want to learn from every run and try and make it go quicker. I think we can definitely have a good car in Phoenix,\u201d said Force.<\/p>\n<p>Force was very well received throughout the weekend. Each day fans lined up at the ropes to witness history in John Force Racing pit areas along with sponsors, family and friends. Force stayed calm, cool and collected amongst the stress brought on by race weekend activities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt (debut weekend) was a little overwhelming. There was a lot of pressure. I was more excited than anything. I just want to thank my sponsors like Traxxas, Castrol, Auto Club, Ford, Mac Tools and BrandSource for giving me this opportunity. I was just excited to be able to be in a race in a Funny Car. I always dreamed of going three hundred miles per hour. It is just awesome to be here,\u201d added Force.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest surprise of the day for John Force Racing and for the Funny Car category was the early exit for Robert Hight and the Auto Club Ford Mustang. After blasting to the top of the field on Saturday in the third qualifying session the 2009 Funny Car champion was confident going into eliminations. In the opening round his Funny Car smoked the tires versus Todd Lesenko and he was done for the day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was glad to be the No. 1 qualifier but like I said last night I would have liked to have gotten the fourth qualifying run in. This morning we had some mechanical issues before the first round and we just got snake bit. The season is just starting and this Auto Club team is too good to hang our heads. I am glad we are going to be at a race track next weekend,\u201d said Hight.<\/p>\n<p>For all the success Hight and crew chief Jimmy Prock have had earning No. 1 qualifiers and being one of the most consistent Funny Cars in recent memory they have not been able to translate that success into race wins. They have 40 career No. 1 qualifiers together but have only one from the top spot five times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are still going to go after No. 1s. We are just going to do a better job on race day,\u201d said Hight.<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">FULL THROTTLE POINT STANDINGS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>FUNNY CAR \u2013\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">1. John Force, , Castrol GTX High Mileage Ford Mustang, 114; 2. Mike Neff, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang, 95;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 3. Tied, Ron Capps, NAPA Dodge Charger, and Gary Densham, Lawson Oil Dodge Charger, 73 each; 5. Jack Beckman, Valvoline Dodge Charger, 62;\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">6. Courtney Force, Traxxas Ford Mustang, 52;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 7. Tie, Tim Wilkerson, Levi, Ray and Shoup Ford Mustang, and Todd Lesenko, Tap-It Brewing Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 51 each;\u00a0<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">9. Robert Hight, Auto Club Ford Mustang, 41;<\/span><\/em><\/strong> 10. Bob Tasca III, Quick Lane\/Ford Parts Ford Mustang, 39.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TOP FUEL<\/strong> \u2013 1. Spencer Massey, FRAM dragster, 119; 2. Antron Brown, Matco Tools dragster, 95; 3. Morgan Lucas, GEICO Powersports dragster, 87; 4. Tony Schumacher, U.S. Army dragster, 78; 5. Bob Vandergriff, C&amp;J Energy Services dragster, 57; 6. Tie, Brandon Bernstein, Lucas Oil dragster, and Shawn Langdon, Al-Anabi dragster, 54 each; 8. Clay Millican, Parts Plus dragster, 52; 9. Khalid alBalooshi, Al-Anabi dragster, 34; 10. Tie, Steve Torrence, Capco Construction dragster, Doug Kalitta, Kalitta Air dragster, and David Grubnic, Kalitta Air dragster, 32 each.<\/p>\n<p><strong>PRO STOCK <\/strong>\u2013 1. Greg Anderson, Summit Racing Pontiac GXP, 114; 2. Jeg Coughlin Jr., JEGS.com Dodge Avenger, 91; 3. Jason Line, Summit Racing Pontiac GXP, 82; 4. Mike Edwards, Penhall Pontiac GXP, 81; 5. Allen Johnson, Mopar Parts Dodge Avenger, 59; 6. Vincent Nobile, Mountain View Tire Dodge Avenger, 55; 7. Tie, Rodger Brogdon, Racers Edge Pontiac GXP, and 8. Shane Gray, Big O Tires\/Service Central Pontiac GXP, 53 each; 9. Ronnie Humphrey, Hot Rod Hardware Pontiac GXP, 41; 10. Tie, Ron Krisher, Valvoline Pontiac GXP, Kurt Johnson, Mark Christopher Group Pontiac GXP, Greg Stanfield, Bossier City, La., Nitro Fish Pontiac GXP, and Larry Morgan, Lucas Oil Ford Mustang, 32 each.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">THE DRIVERS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>JOHN FORCE<\/strong><\/span>, 62, Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Qualifying: <\/strong>6<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.126 seconds, 312.28 mph<br \/>\n<strong>Race results: <\/strong>Beat Alexis DeJoria, Tim Wilkerson, Gary Densham, Mike Neff<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quotable: John Force on Courtney\u2019s debut \u201c<\/strong>Courtney is the baby, you have to love her. This is what she loves. You worry every round. I saw her 4.14 and I knew Neff was going to run a great number. The fact that she just right down the aisle she is just learning every run. When you love you kids like that, that is all that matters. I am proud of her just like I was proud of Ashley.<strong>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>MIKE NEFF<\/strong><\/span><strong>, <\/strong>45, Castrol GTX Ford Mustang<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final Qualifying:<\/strong> 4<sup>th <\/sup>at 4.103 seconds, 307.16 mph<br \/>\n<strong>Race results: <\/strong>Beat Tony Pedregon, Courtney Force, Ron Capps. Lost to John Force.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quotable: Mike Neff on racing Courtney Force in 2<sup>nd<\/sup> round &#8211; <\/strong>\u201cLuckily that blower belt held on as long as it did. That was exciting to be racing Courtney. She has done a fantastic job for Traxxas. I remember my first weekend. I want to congratulate her on her first weekend. When I lifted I saw her go right by me so I knew she had to be right there with me. We will try to keep on keeping on over here with this Castrol Funny Car.\u201d<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>ROBERT HIGHT<\/strong><\/span>, 42, Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang<br \/>\nFinal Qualifying: No. 1 at 4.060 seconds, 316.52 mph<\/p>\n<p><strong>Race results:<\/strong> Lost to Todd Lesenko.<br \/>\n<strong>Bonus Qualifying Points: +3 (quickest of Q3)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quotable: <\/strong>\u201cI was glad to be the No. 1 qualifier but like I said last night I would have liked to have gotten the fourth qualifying run in. This morning we had some mechanical issues before the first round and we just got snake bit. The season is just starting and this Auto Club team is too good to hang our heads. I am glad we are going to be at a race track next weekend\u201d \u2013ROBERT HIGHT<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>COURTNEY FORCE<\/strong><\/span>, 23, Traxxas Ford Mustang<br \/>\nFinal Qualifying: 12<sup>th<\/sup> at 4.199 seconds, 307.09 mph<br \/>\n<strong>Race results:<\/strong> Beat Bob Tasca III. Lost to Mike Neff.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Quotable:<\/strong> \u201cIt went better than I expected. I have all the faith in the world in my crew guys and my crew chiefs Ron Douglas and Scott Wible. Coming out as a rookie driver I didn\u2019t set my expectations too high for myself. I have a great team behind me and great teammates therefore I have had great teachers. I just want to do everything I have learned in testing\u201d \u2013 COURTNEY FORCE<\/p>\n<p>* * * *<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><strong><em>TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT #3<\/em><\/strong> on the\u00a0next page&#8230;<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><br \/>\n<strong><em>TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT #3<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n2012 NHRA Final Qualifying Summary<br \/>\n1<sup>st<\/sup> of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series<\/p>\n<p>52<sup>nd<\/sup> annual O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals<br \/>\nAuto Club Raceway at\u00a0Pomona<br \/>\nPomona,\u00a0Calif.\u00a0Feb. 9-12, 2012<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Winternationals-2012.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19151\" style=\"border: 2px solid black; margin: 4px;\" title=\"Robert Hight at 2012 Winternationals in Pomona, CA\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Winternationals-2012.jpg\" alt=\"john force racing, robert hight, winternationals\" width=\"575\" height=\"383\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Winternationals-2012.jpg 575w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Winternationals-2012-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Robert-Hight-Winternationals-2012-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>HIGHT RACES TO No. 1 AT WINTERNATIONALS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>POMONA, CA &#8212; Robert Hight went from zero to hero in eight hour at the 52<sup>nd<\/sup> annual O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals. Going into the third qualifying session Hight and his Auto Club Ford Mustang Funny Car were on the outside of the field but after a 4.06 second pass he was sitting on top the category. When persistent rains set in Hight claimed his 40<sup>th<\/sup> No. 1 qualifier and third in four seasons at the season opening race. The NHRA cancelled the final qualifying session as the skies opened up drenching the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is amazing how things can change so fast. Don Garlits said it best; you are only as good as your last run. We came into today not qualified and we ended up going to the No. 1 spot. We lost a run the first session here it broke the blower drive shaft. Everyone has been telling me at least it didn\u2019t happen on Sunday. I look at it that why couldn\u2019t it have happened on the last run of testing when it really didn\u2019t matter,\u201d said Hight. \u201cWe put that behind us. It was weak the next run. We had big, big decisions today. The temperature dropped and the track got even better. We have to really get after this thing so it doesn\u2019t shake. When you do that you risk smoking the tires.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was funny this morning I told John (Force) I would be happy with a 4.05. He looked at me like I had two heads. No one had even come close to that but that was the only way we were going to make it down the track. I would have liked to have gotten another run out there tonight. Jimmy looked at the run and he thinks we could have run better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Hight at the top of the field he was out in front of his JFR teammates but he knew anyone of them could have a good day on Sunday. Since Hight captured the top spot \u00a0Michelle Pettipas from Hesperia, Calif. won a washer and dryer compliments of the &#8220;Win with Force&#8221; BrandSource contest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is great is all four of our Mustangs are qualified. It is so good to be back here with the fans. You start going nuts over the winter. Being in the shop too long is not a good thing, especially for John. He is not much fun in the winter time. It is a lot better being out here with the fans. It is good to get another No. 1 and see if we can win this race for Auto Club and Ford and all our sponsors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is good for the sponsors to be No. 1. Trust me this is not a race I would want to not qualify at. We are in front of the Auto Club at their home track. Jimmy calls it laying an egg. We did not want to lay an egg here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With two lost runs to start the race the mood in the Auto Club pits was tense on Friday night. Hight felt very confident coming into the race but his on track performance was not up to his high standards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYesterday was not a good feeling. We left West Palm Beach with the quickest and fastest run in testing. Some might think that is not a big deal but all those other guys were trying to run that hard and that quick too. To have that happen and your hopes are so high you are ready to get the season started,\u201d said Hight, who recorded the quickest runs in testing. \u201cLast year we ended up not winning the championship but we won the most races. You are ready to get out here and redeem yourself. For the first two runs to go the way they did, yeah it was a letdown. You still have to do your job and my team pulled together. Looking back it was a little gutsy but we got it done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For team leader John Force Saturday was a day of tension that ended with a rush of excitement. Force raced into the No. 6 qualifying position with a 4.126 second run that has the 15-time champion squaring off with rookie Alexis DeJoria in the first round. Force wanted to get the final lap in for himself and for his teammates.<strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously it is a good day. Robert has always done well at the Winternationals. Mike Neff if he would have gotten another lap he would have stepped up. My car is in top half and Courtney jumped in at 12 so with a new sponsor in Traxxas it is important to have a good day,\u201d said Force. \u201cYou should see the lines at the ropes at the Auto Club stage show and at the BrandSource Top Fuel dragster. It is a new day and to get all four Ford Mustang Funny Cars in I am really excited. In this economy people invest and we have a brand new team and a brand new driver so to go down the race track three times in a row everyone did their job. That was critical. I wish she could have gotten another run in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With his youngest daughter making her pro debut on Sunday Force tried to keep it simple and offer only one word of advice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSame. Do the same thing again. Go up there and do exactly what she did on Thursday, Friday and today. It is about repetition and doing things the way she was taught. Don\u2019t get into competition and look out the window at the other driver and forget to drive your own car. She knows that. I have made that mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With Force\u2019s advice at the top of her mind Courtney Force and her Traxxas team led by Ron Douglas and Scott Wible had continued success today as they strategically pushed the Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car down the track at 4.199 ET at 307.09 mph.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m pretty pleased with how qualifying went. Our car has been really consistent so far this weekend. We ran a 4.19, 4.21 and then a 4.20 today. As a driver and as a team all you can really ask for is consistency and I think we\u2019ve got that. I hope we can build on it tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of the third qualifying shot, Force was set in the no. 12 spot for Sunday. She will face Bob Tasca III in the first found of eliminations on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s pretty crazy knowing that I\u2019m actually qualified for my first ever national event in Funny Car. I\u2019m so proud of (crew chiefs) Ron Douglas, Scott Wible and my team for getting me here because I couldn\u2019t have done it without them. Same goes for the support of my sponsors- Traxxas, Castrol, Ford, Auto Club, BrandSource, and Mac Tools.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very surreal right now. I can\u2019t believe that I\u2019m event in the show. There are so many great drivers out here and we ended up squeezing our way in so I\u2019m very excited. Hopefully we can get this car running a little quicker tomorrow and get that first round win,\u201d said Force.<\/p>\n<p>Finally championship contender Mike Neff came in to Saturday in the bottom half of the field. The car struggled in the week\u2019s previous qualifying sessions and left Neff in the no. 13 spot at the end of Friday\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYesterday we actually made a good run and something malfunctioned with the lights. It could have run a really good number, but it didn\u2019t work out that way. Having that run not count made it even more stressful on us today,\u201d said Mike Neff, driver of the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang Funny Car.<\/p>\n<p>Today in a side by side race with Robert Hight, Neff and his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang made a clean pass straight down the track and posted a 4.103 ET at 307.16 mph which left Neff respectively in the no. 5 spot. He will face Tony Pedregon on the opening round of Funny Car qualifying on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m always happy to qualify. That\u2019s always the first task when we come to the race. Getting qualified on the first pass today was a huge relief especially looking back now with the last session getting rained out. Being aware that that stuff happens sometimes makes us all the more thankful that we got in what we needed to before the rain. I\u2019m just excited for the first race of the year and ready to get going tomorrow,\u201d added Neff.<\/p>\n<p>Neff has had some success versus Pedregon winning the last five first round match-ups but Neff is taking nothing for granted going into the first race of the season.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><strong><em>TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT #2<\/em><\/strong> on the\u00a0next page&#8230;<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT #2<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n2012 NHRA Friday Qualifying Summary<br \/>\n1<sup>st<\/sup> of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series<\/p>\n<p>52<sup>nd<\/sup> annual O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals<br \/>\nAuto Club Raceway at\u00a0Pomona<br \/>\nPomona,\u00a0Calif.\u00a0Feb. 9-12, 2012<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-3.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19141\" style=\"border-image: initial; margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"John Force at Winternationals in Pomona, CA\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-3.jpg\" alt=\"John Force, Winternationals, funny car, NHRA\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>FRIDAY HAS FORCES LEADING JFR AT AUTO CLUB RACEWAY<\/h3>\n<p>POMONA, CA &#8212; Heading into the weekend at the 52<sup>nd<\/sup> annual O\u2019Reilly NHRA Winternationals John Force Racing is half in and half out but totally focused. Led by John Force and Courtney Force in the provisional No. 6 and No. 8 positions respectively, John Force Racing will have two more qualifying opportunities on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>John Force once again led the quartet of Blue Oval Funny Cars with the quickest time of the group, a solid 4.185 second pass at 300.40 mph. At the top end Force was excited to be back in the game on back to back days and he was also confident his teammates would turn it around.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMike Neff and that Castrol Mustang were flying. I don\u2019t know what happened. It looked fast. He knows where he is at with his tune-up. I am excited to have Traxxas out here, our new sponsor with Castrol, Auto Club, Ford, Mac Tools and BrandSource. Thank you Mr. Jenkins (Mike Jenkins president of Traxxas) for the job,\u201d said Force.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-4.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19141\" style=\"border-image: initial; margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"Mike Neff at Winternationals in Pomona, CA\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-4.jpg\" alt=\"Mike Neff, Winternationals, funny car, NHRA\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day Force was looking at how his team had pulled together to start the season with some new personnel and a new tune-up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have struggled for a year now and with Courtney being new she just needs to make laps. I am not worried about (crew chiefs) Jimmy (Prock) or (Mike) Neff. Neff had some deal with the tree or with the way that he staged. He made a good run it just didn\u2019t show it in the ET. These numbers today don\u2019t matter when you get into tomorrow with the cool air because everybody will be running 4.0s and low teens,\u201d said the 133-time national event winner. \u201cFor my team led by Dean Antonelli and Danny DeGennaro getting two good runs was critical. We have struggled for a long time and now we have a new combination. We are walking into it and we didn\u2019t try and step on it and run a 4.10.\u00a0\u00a0We were trying to run 4.16 and it dropped a cylinder and ran 4.18.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-1.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19141\" style=\"border-image: initial; margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"Courtney Force at Winternationals in Pomona, CA\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-1.jpg\" alt=\"Courtney Force, Winternationals, funny car, NHRA\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-1-575x384.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Force\u2019s attention has been on his Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Ford Mustang Funny Car and the development of his youngest daughter\u2019s driving skills.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI kind of pulled back today and I let (sister) Ashley (Force Hood) have her (Courtney). Sometimes I give her too much information. I am a worried parent just like a regular person. She is keeping her nose clean and she was working the media all day. I did tell her now is the fun part when you get in the car. She\u2019ll be OK it is just going to take some time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With great weather the fans have been turning out in droves at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. All the JFR drivers have been in high demand but for the 15-time Funny Car champion the request for autographs can be overwhelming.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fans are just great and it is amazing what they do for me. They just motivate me and I love it. I tell all my drivers you have to love the fans, love the media and love your sponsors. We have had Castrol, Auto Club, Ford, Mac Tools and BrandSource for years and now we added Traxxas. Traxxas is giving money to everybody in the Nitro ranks with the Shootout at Indy. Everyone has a chance to win $100,000 in Top Fuel or Funny Car. That is big. We all have a chance and it starts this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nipping at Force\u2019s heels in the qualifying order are the two women vying for the rookie of the year award, Alexis DeJoria and Courtney Force. Their ETs are separated by one thousandth of a second. For the youngest racing Force getting another quick time was a big step in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe only had one shot today and I think we made a good run. We ran a (4).19 which I think is a good number. That put me in the number 8 spot going into Saturday. I think the most important thing is we\u2019ve been consistent and we\u2019ve been building from one run to the next. I hope to keep doing that tomorrow with our two qualifying passes so we can make it into the show,\u201d said Force.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be tough; we\u2019re going up against some big hitters and just doing the best we can with a new team and a new driver, but I think we\u2019re ready for it. I\u2019m learning new things each time I get in the car and that\u2019s very important. I think we\u2019re doing great as a team, the only thing we can do now is keep our heads up and do even better tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the second day in a row championship contenders Robert Hight and Mike Neff struggled. The Auto Club Ford Mustang driven by Hight posted a time of 6.371 seconds which was the 18<sup>th<\/sup> quickest time of the event but will not carry over into Saturday leaving the three time Winternationals winner with two shots to get into the program.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-2.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19141\" style=\"border-image: initial; margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"Robert Hight at Winternationals in Pomona, CA\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/2012-John-Force-racing-team-news-2.jpg\" alt=\"Robert\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe twisted a blower shaft yesterday and that put us behind the eight ball. It shook today but we\u2019ll get the Auto Club Ford Mustang in there tomorrow definitely,\u201d said Hight.<\/p>\n<p>For Neff, the five time winner in 2011, the issues his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang have succumbed to have been equal parts frustrating and surprising.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was definitely not what we were looking for. Something happened with the lights. It was on a good run and you can see it had a lot of power at the top end. The ET just wasn\u2019t there on the scoreboard. Hopefully we\u2019ll get a couple more tries tomorrow and see how it goes,\u201d said Neff.<\/p>\n<p>Qualifying will continue tomorrow 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ffcc00;\"><strong><strong><em>TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT #1<\/em><\/strong> on the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">next page<\/span>&#8230;<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>TEAM JFR QUALIFYING REPORT #1<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n2012 NHRA Saturday Qualifying Summary<br \/>\n1<sup>st<\/sup> of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series<\/p>\n<p>52<sup>nd<\/sup> Annual O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals<br \/>\nAuto Club Raceway at\u00a0Pomona<br \/>\nPomona,\u00a0Calif.<br \/>\nFeb. 9-12, 2012<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force_Funny-car.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox[12048]\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19139\" style=\"border-image: initial; margin: 4px; border: 2px solid black;\" title=\"John Force Racing's Courtney Force in her Traxxus Funny Car\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force_Funny-car.jpg\" alt=\"John Force Racing, Courtney Force\" width=\"575\" border=\"2\" hspace=\"4\" vspace=\"4\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force_Funny-car.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force_Funny-car-150x94.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force_Funny-car-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Courtney-Force_Funny-car-575x363.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>THE FORCES SHINE ON DAY ONE OF WINTERNATIONALS<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>POMONA, CA &#8212; The 2012 NHRA season got off to a \u201cForce-ful\u201d start as Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future rookie of the year candidate, Courtney Force made her official pro debut at the 52<sup>nd<\/sup> annual O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals. In her smart looking black and red Traxxas Ford Mustang Funny Car Courtney posted a solid time of 4.21 seconds at 303.16 mph. She held on to the provisional No. 1 position for three of pairs of Funny Cars before ultimately slipping to No. 6 one spot behind her 15-time Funny Car champion father John Force\u2019s 4.192 second, 302.89 mph pass.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy first run was very exciting. It was very nerve-racking. It is something I have been thinking about for such a long time. I think my dad was a little more nervous than me. I definitely had some butterflies and I just went up there knowing I didn\u2019t have anything to lose. This was the dream that I was getting to live,\u201d said the 23 year-old rookie. \u201cI just wanted to go out there and do the best that I could as a driver. I wanted to take everything I learned from last year and take it to the race track. I am still a new driver and I am still learning every time I get in the car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am very comfortable knowing that my car can get down the race track. I have a great team behind me with (co-crew chiefs) Ron Douglas and Scott Wible. I am very confident going into Friday. We are working hard as a team and we are doing the best we can,\u201d added the Cal State Fullerton graduate.<\/p>\n<p>Going into Friday\u2019s qualifying session Courtney will be paired up with her father based on the NHRA qualifying order. When the youngest Force was told about this prospect her immediate response was a quick laugh and a comment about the NHRA\u2019s broadcast partner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI bet ESPN is happy about that,\u201d joked Force.<\/p>\n<p>Knowing that racing side by side will continue to be a learning experience Courtney was happy to be making a lap beside her teammate. During the Florida test sessions she made a number of laps side by side but tomorrow will be for real.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a little different when you are running with someone else in the other lane. You want your routine to be OK. You don\u2019t want to be too slow or too fast. There are a bunch of little things that I am still working on as a new driver,\u201d said Force. \u201cTesting by myself last season made it harder to figure out how my routine was coming together. I learned a lot in Florida when we were testing and it is going to be fun to run beside my dad. I couldn\u2019t have asked for a better match up. That is amazing it worked out like that. I am really excited and we\u2019ll have a lot of fun with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Team leader John Force was all smiles after the first day of the season both because of his daughter\u2019s performance as well as his own. Last year ended on a frustrating note for the winningest driver in NHRA history, losing in the first round at the final eight races, so getting off to a strong start in 2012 is important to the 15-time champion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is really good to watch my guys all working together. It is great to have John Medlen and Dickie Venables back. They are both learning our processes again. We have a lot of new people over here and everybody worked really well together on the first day. We didn\u2019t do anything spectacular. My Castrol GTX HIGH MILEAGE Mustang went down the race track with a 4.19. Courtney had some first day jitters but so did I,\u201d said the five-time Winternationals champion. \u201cShe went A to B just like Ashley did. She kept her nose clean. It got a little loose at about 800 feet but she drove it and kept it off the wall. She got it to the lights and I think she is No. 6 in the show right now. I am so proud of her because I know the pressure is on her. I love seeing the women like Courtney and (rookie of the year candidate) Alexis (De Joria) getting into the show. That is big for our sport. I am not just talking about my kid but it is big for our whole sport. Women will put fans in the stands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have my new leg and the doctors have me fixed up and I have a new sponsor with Traxxas. I also am excited for all my sponsors from Castrol to Auto Club, Ford, Mac Tools and BrandSource. We also added Freightliner and we are getting the season started right. It is so important to have a new sponsor join the team. It was good to see the Traxxas Mustang go A to B since they are investing in that program. We have two more days and three more runs so a lot can happen. It was a real good start. I am excited about the year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The last time Force was at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona the Top Eliminator grandstands were re-named the John Force grandstands and Force was able to see the signage adorning the stands for the first time. The former truck driver was noticeably emotional when he talked about seeing his name at the top of the stands which is adjacent to the Don \u201cThe Snake\u201d Prudhomme section.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon Prudhomme was my hero. You look at all the greats from (Don) Garlits to Shirley (Muldowney) to (Kenny) Bernstein, I just wanted to be able to stand next to them and race with them. Don Prudhomme was the guy for me. He was the guy I set my goals after, him and Tom \u201cThe Mongoose\u201d McEwen. To have my name next to his is just like being beside Garlits. You can\u2019t get better than that. I am living life at its fullest. I am getting a second chance with this leg. It is going to be a very interesting season and I am ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The two John Force Racing Funny Cars that were battling for the championship last season did not get off to a strong start on Thursday. Mike Neff and the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang smoked the tires and recorded the 15<sup>th<\/sup> quickest time of the day, 7.594 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Hight was full of confidence going into qualifying but a sheered blower shaft ended his day before his Auto Club Ford Mustang moved past the burnout box. The 2009 Funny Car champion was surprised by the mechanical mishap considering the blower shaft had an acceptable number of runs and that area is not usually prone to this sort of issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know why it happened but Jimmy Prock and the guys are looking into it. If it had to happen I am glad it was Thursday and not on Sunday morning. We have three more shots this weekend and I am still extremely confident in our capabilities,\u201d said Hight.<\/p>\n<p>Qualifying will continue tomorrow starting with Top Fuel at 2:00 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mr_social_sharing_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- Social Sharing Toolkit v2.2 --><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2Fjohn-force-racing-news%2F&amp;media=&amp;description=John+Force+Drag+Racing+News\" class=\"pin-it-button\" count-layout=\"none\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/images\/PinExt.png\" title=\"Pin It\" \/><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><fb:share-button type=\"button_count\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\"><\/fb:share-button><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-count=\"horizontal\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\" data-via=\"myrideisme\" data-text=\"John Force Drag Racing News\"><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a class=\"mr_social_share_email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=John Force Drag Racing News&amp;body=https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-sharing-toolkit\/images\/icons_small\/email.png\" class=\"nopin\" alt=\"Email\" title=\"Email\"\/><span class=\"mr_small_icon\">Email<\/span><\/a><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"linksalpha_button linksalpha_link\" href=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/social\/mobile\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/john-force-racing-news\/\" data-text=\"John Force Drag Racing News\" data-desc=\"News About John Force Racing Team Supplied by the John Force Racing Public Relations machine and published here with their permission. TEAM JFR RACE REPORT 4th of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series 13th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV\" data-image=\"\" data-button=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/images\/social_share_button.png\" alt=\"Share\" class=\"linksalpha_image\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/scripts\/loader_iconbox.js?v=2.4\"><\/script><\/span><\/div><p>Email News About John Force Racing Team Supplied by the John Force Racing Public Relations machine and published here with their permission. TEAM JFR RACE REPORT 4th of 23 races in the NHRA Full Throttle Series 13th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, NV April 1, 2012 * [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12048"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12048"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22100,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12048\/revisions\/22100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}